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Skills Needed to be an Anesthesiologist

The skills, responsibilities, and related details that an anesthesiologist needs to excel in his profession is mentioned in this story.
Shashank Nakate
An anesthesiologist is a medical professional who is trained in giving anesthesia to a patient during operations. They have to ensure that anesthesia is delivered to the patients correctly, so that the patient wakes up after a fixed period of time (after surgery is over).
The role of these professionals is however, much more diversified these days. The job of an anesthesiologist demands an important attribute in the practitioners, i.e., of keeping an eye on details.
The ability of paying attention to the details of the surgery and carefully monitoring of the state of the patient is an essential requirement of every successful surgery and a prerequisite of every good anesthesiologist.

Skills Possessed by Anesthesiologists

There are many skills that need to be possessed by anesthesiologists in order to work efficiently. The skills are presented in the story ahead.

Know-How of Medicines

They have to know about the medicine used in pain management, such as anesthesia, to be administered, their side-effects, and many other aspects of preoperative medicines. During the surgery, they listen to the surgeon's instructions, and play a major role during surgery to make it successful.
They are more like catalysts used in chemical reactions that bring about a change in a chemical reaction without direct participation. Anesthesiologists help the participants (surgeons) by taking care of the medicines (medical treatments) required during a surgery.

Presence of Mind

These medical professionals need to have the capability to make quick decisions. There are so many things that they need to manage in an operation theater, that it is important to have the presence of mind to work efficiently.
As per the job description, the main responsibility is to manage the pain felt by the patient before, during, and after the operation. Taking quick action as the need arises is necessary. It is necessary to have good judgment pertaining to the drugs being administered.
The required focus, know-how (about medicines) and power of decision-making comes into play in the process of administering drugs in the right amount. Depending on the complexity of the surgery, anesthesia can be used to ease the pain experienced by the patient.
In case of local anesthesia, drugs which influence or numb only a localized area of the body are used. However, in case of epidural anesthesia, a large part of body (generally arm or leg) is made numb. In general anesthesia, the person is put to sleep temporarily.

Patience and Stamina

The job of an anesthesiologist requires a great amount of patience, hard work, and stamina. Many times, they have to work the whole day and assist surgeons. Their work hours can even stretch to as much as 60 in a single week.
The patience required in assisting the surgeons during operations also makes their work quite demanding and absorbing. All the skills mentioned above should give an idea about how difficult their task actually is.
It requires expertise and in-depth knowledge of the subject matter so as to manage the pain and sensations that a patient may experience during a surgical procedure. All these skills make this job quite crucial. These professionals are well paid, and even an assistant is offered a good salary.
After this short account of information about anesthesiologist's skills, let us get into few more facts about the specific responsibilities and roles of these professionals.

List of Anesthesiologist's Responsibilities

The following is a list of responsibilities handled by anesthesiologists which will surely help understand what skills they need to have. The information should help in understanding the preparations that one should undertake to become an anesthesiologist
  • Preventing a patient from experiencing pain at the time of surgery is the prime responsibility of these professionals.
  • Signs of pain and uneasiness felt by the patient during the operation need to be monitored by anesthesiologists. The patient should be treated accordingly. Medications required during the recovery phase are also given by them.
  • Their job is not just limited to operations/surgeries. Understanding techniques of pain management used in different types of illnesses is also one of the roles of these professionals.
  • Taking care of airway management in emergency surgeries too is a role that anesthesiologists have to undertake.
  • They need to obtain information about medications to be administered for a certain specific case (patients) depending on the illness/surgery to be conducted.
The job of anesthesiologists has become much more complicated in today's world, where advanced technology is fast influencing the treatment measures and equipment used for surgeries.